1. Field of Invention
This application relates to computer based 3D human modeling particularly for the garment industry. In addition, the invention can be applied to design and retail industries.
2. Description of Prior Art
The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:
U.S. PatentsPat. No.Kind CodeIssue DatePatentee7,584,122B2Sep. 1, 2009Kozinn7,218,752B2May 15, 2007Tsai et al.6,442,419B1Aug. 27, 2002Chu et al.
In the garment industry, consumers often find it difficult to purchase a garment that fits their exact body shape. Take for example a pair of pants. They come in a few standard sizes, and a person gets to choose one of these sizes. There are a large number of people whose body shapes do not conform to these standardized shapes. This is largely due to the absence an automated, non-intrusive, commercial method that has the ability to determine the 3-Dimensional (3D) shape of a person who is looking to make a garment purchase; and there is no computerized way for an individual to test the fit of the hundreds of garments in a store for his or her shape. No such method or apparatus to construct the 3D model of a person wishing to purchase a garment is available today at any leading department store.
However, the technology to create 3D models currently exists. The technology mostly used to create 3D model constructions for the purposes of garment fitting are based on body scanning techniques. Scanning techniques provide an accurate set of data points, but may not provide consistent, reliable set of body landmarks that identify the points of geodetic measurement for every individual, every time. In addition, there is difficulty in turning the large amount of data to a useful set of data-points. In addition, geodetic measurement is based on preset mathematical models, and tailoring the landmark points based on individual uniqueness is not economically viable. The data is applicable for surveys and creating probabilistic models, but may not be an alternative for manual measurement for the purposes of creating a garment.
Another technology that has been used to create 3D imaging that may be of interest is based on 2D to 3D conversions. However, these 2D to 3D conversions are targeted for gaming and toward entertainment value. There are no geodesics or anthropometrics involved as relevant to human modeling in the garment industry.
There is no commercial method currently used widely to convert a 2D image to a corresponding real time 3D image that can create a replication of anthropometric measurements for the purposes of modeling a human form.
Advantages
One or more aspects of this invention are to provide a computerized, non-intrusive apparatus and method that has the ability to gather a 3D shape of individuals swiftly and economically; such a computerized 3D model can be applied in manufacturing, fitting, or in pattern making of a garment for a custom fit. Further, this model can also be fed into other applications such as computer aided design (CAD) for applying this model to test the fit of the hundreds of garments in a given store against the model. In addition, there are several other applications outside of garment industries, where a 3D computerized model of a willing participant can be of use. A 3D computerized model can be stored, and hence has all of the advantages of a readable/writable file. This method and apparatus is written for a single person at a given time, but is applicable to other forms and objects. Another notable advantage is that the landmarks for anthropometric measurement of the human body can be customized prior to each modeling.